Cardinal Sins
by Queria
Summary: They would never say it out loud, but Oliver always knew their family favored Gene over him. Drabble-attempts to explore the Ghost Hunt characters. Chapter four: Because Mai felt she was special, regardless of whether the males in SPR saw her as a little sister.
1. Greed

**GREED**

Eugene was always the people-person of the two of them. He, as a child, used to think that since the two of them looked exactly alike, Gene can make up for his lack of social skills. During family occasions, as a favor, he would ask Gene to go around and introduce himself as Oliver, so that he can skip the "I haven't seen you since you were this big!" part of the day. Martin can always tell the difference, but kept quiet and laughed at his sons' antics. Luella, in turn, would let their guests in on their little tricks and everyone would chuckle at Eugene's guilty grin.

As a result, Gene had become the family-twin. Oliver would participate from time-to-time, but Eugene was always the one who made an effort to bond with the crowd. They would never say it out loud, but Oliver always knew their family favored Gene over him.

He didn't blame them, nor despised Gene for it. It was a fact he accepted most of the time.

He had always wanted to be the favorite twin, though. It was something he had always known, yet never admitted to himself.

One time he and his twin made a card for Mothers' Day. It was Gene's idea, and by the time they were almost done with it, Gene had fallen asleep on the crafts table. Oliver took it upon himself to finish the whole thing hastily, and presented it to Luella, cleverly leaving out Gene's part in it. When he woke up, he told Gene he had given it to Luella on their behalf and she was very happy and grateful for the both of them.

Up until this day, he never told Gene he didn't tell their mother it was a team effort.

It was actually one of the pettiest things that kept him up at some nights.

* * *

**A/N: Character experiment. :) Please bear with me.**


	2. Sloth

**SLOTH**

"I don't want it." Her manager can only pull his brows together at her refusal. Masako wasn't the quintessential primadonna, but there are_ times_.

"Don't you understand, Masako? This project is most sought after! This will boost your image ratings off the roof!" he exclaimed, trying his best to keep an excited tone and conceal his irritation at the same time. He had handled the young star since she first stepped into the industry, and he knew her to be hard-working, even for her age. There just happened to be certain times in a year when, no matter how hard he tries, she just shuts down for no reason.

"I'm happy with my ratings as they are. With all due respect, I don't need a skyrocket to fame," she replied sourly. Her manager just heaved a sigh and scratched his head. With a final sigh, he left.

She heaved a sigh as well. Guilt and doubt were setting in. Is this the right decision for her career? Is she acting irrationally? Should she call her manager back?

She watched him leave from the living room window. His figure eventually disappeared in the distance, and Masako found herself staring into nothing. Her shoulders sagged and she let her posture slouch for the first time in a long while. She didn't need more exposure. She didn't need more publicity, more projects, more opportunities, or whatever her manager chose to call it.

She had worked so hard. She can afford to take a little break.

It's not so often that she chooses to indulge herself, after all.


	3. Gluttony

**GLUTTONY**

He would never leave Naru alone in the office. Don't get him wrong - he trusts his ward, but one can never be too cautious. He was constantly reminded of the possibilities that could happen if Noll is left to his own devices. He may be intelligent beyond his years, but that intelligence is not tantamount to his maturity. He shared a common fault with most adolescents: recklessness and a tendency to act on impulse.

Lin kept his fair share of personal secrets. One, in particular, cannot actually be counted as a secret, because he was not trying to conceal it on purpose. It was a trivial thing that is insignificant and irrelevant to most issues, so he never bothered to tell anyone. Not that he wanted them to know. Honestly, he would've preferred it if it stayed private.

Unfortunately, Madoka had already dashed all hopes of that happening. Once she had found out, she never let an opportunity pass not to rub it in his face. It wasn't necessarily a character defect in his part. Madoka simply enjoyed seeing him all flustered.

There was one time, though, when he did not mind at all.

Noll was having one of his bouts. It had barely been two months since they had found out of Eugene's demise, and during the first month, Noll refused to acknowledge other people's existence. He would throw emotional tantrums (which Lin had never thought he would witness) and his abilities would go haywire. By the time Oliver exhausted his powers, Lin would almost be drained to the limit.

Madoka knocked on his door while he was meditating, trying to recuperate as much energy as he can. She was there to offer what she knew for him to be an effective pick-me-up.

She brought with her a slice of blueberry cheesecake.

* * *

**A/N: I had to rush this out so I can meet my daily deadline. Hahaha!**


	4. Pride

**PRIDE**

All her friends told her how pretty she was. She knew it for herself, and she delighted in knowing how attractive she looked for other people. She always prided herself in looking pretty despite how effortless she was towards her appearance.

Nowadays, she wasn't so sure.

She would never really show it, but she always had an inkling of insecurity towards her two other female companions in SPR.

Masako was beautiful, famous, and lady-like. Some of the boys at her school even asked her about the starlet, asking what kind of boys she liked, whether they had a shot, if she would introduce them. Ayako had a very sophisticated look about her, and she was a very attractive woman who was aware of how beautiful she looked. Bou-san even confessed to Mai about how he felt towards the priestess.

Being with those two confident women often made her wonder about her own confidence. She tried to bury the thought in the deepest recesses of her mind, but sometimes it claws its way into the light every time the two women enter the scene.

One night, she stood in front of the mirror, lightly touching her cheeks. She would apply rouge on both cheeks and lips, eyeshadow on her eyelids, mascara on her eyelashes, and stare at her reflection.

She felt so pretentious. It never seemed to fit her.

She was comforted by the fact that by far, she was the favorite of the group. She felt she was special, regardless of whether the males in SPR saw her as a little sister. It didn't matter.

For that alone, she knew she was beautiful. She may not be the prettiest, but she was beautiful.

Masako can keep her kimonos, and Ayako can stick to her red lipstick. They can never be what she was to the group.

It was something she prided herself with. It was this fact that kept the thought buried within.


	5. Envy

**ENVY**

_A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot._

It was a verse he kept reminding himself each day, just to make himself understand how he could not keep doing this. God fills all emptiness in his life, and he should feel complete just by the thought of serving him. Not being able to find love and get married should be of no problem to him. After all, he dedicated his whole life to Him who loves the fiercest, who loves him more than any woman ever could.

But as he sits there, watching Takigawa propose to Ayako... He swallowed a lump in his throat, fighting back a sense of dread from knowing he will never experience the same kind of happiness radiating from the two.

He hates himself for even feeling sorry.

_For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?_

His profession teaches him to abandon all worldly desires - crave only the Word. He is taught not to depend on his feelings and emotions, for these will bring him attachment in a temporary life, far from the eternity of salvation he was planned for. He was not meant for this world. He was created for something better, something even greater than what this life offers.

His humanity strikes him in the gut, reminding him that while he was not for this life, he was still living in it, not immune to the sorrows that plague the common Adam. He is reminded of how much he wants this, of how, long ago he dreamed of having this. Finding his other half, settling down, starting a family - things he surrendered once he entered the Church. He never once regretted giving up His life to serve the Almighty, but a part of Him wished he could spend that life serving God with someone right beside him.

He was truly happy for Takigawa and Ayako. He wished he could say the same for himself.


End file.
